


The Butterfly Effect

by starrfaux



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-11-15 09:25:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18070730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrfaux/pseuds/starrfaux
Summary: I don't know where I'm doing with this story quiet yet. I don't know how long it's going to be, despite the fact that I'm trying really hard to keep it short.And idk what to write as a summary because I have no idea what all this is going to include and everything feels wrong or like.... it gives away too much information?Dark World, pre-knight, when everything was okay and things were simpler. Jevil's kinda stupid and thinks he's swallowed a butterfly.... This sounds stupid, but trust me, it kinda works.((It's taking me forever, but I promise I'm still writing this!))





	1. Part 1

For anyone else,  _scared_  was probably an exaggeration.

But for Jevil, the incredibly excitable, ridiculously energetic, the word didn’t even come within a skipping stone’s reach of how he truly felt.

 _Terrified? Petrified? Mortified_?

No, no. None of these seemed to be quite right either.

His heart raced faster than he could ever recall. His breath came in shallow, desperate pants. Barely shy of gasping. Tremors crawled beneath his skin, dancing on his joints. His stomach felt fluttery, flipping and turning. It reminded him of the one performance where he wowed the whole court by releasing a thousand butterflies from his gullet. Or the time after when he equally terrified the court by spewing locusts in the same manner. Oh, what fun those two times were! A treat and a trick!

While he wasn’t sure what to make of these feelings, he was certain that things didn’t feel so fun now. And he’s tried on several occasions, hoping to cough up a lepidoptera or two. Even just a little baby one would be nice!

But nothing ever came.

And the habit was becoming so frequent, even his partner had grown worried.

“Jevil… It seems you’ve developed quite the cough lately…” Seam commented on the little noise he heard Jevil try to sneak into his cupped mitts, the old cat’s voice somber but riddled with as much affection as concern. The wooden stool of his workstation gave a modest of squeak as he swiveled to face the jester. “Are you… well?”

The jester jumped, answering a little too quickly, “Y-YES, DOLL FACE! RIGHT AS RAIN! BRIGHT AS-!” but as his eyes met Seam’s, the somersaults in his tum began, and he couldn’t suppress the reflex to check for butterflies.

The day was still young, and the sky as black as always in their forgotten world of Darkness. The two were currently holed up in their little caravan, a generous allotment gifted from the four Kings (‘though the King of Diamonds begrudgingly), toiling away in preparation for their next show.

Seam was carefully working on Jevil’s costume, adding some finishing touches to the coat before moving to work on the blouse. He stopped mid-stitch, laying down his needle and golden thread. Many would think Seam hard to read, but with the amount of time the two spent together Jevil could clearly read the worry for him in Seam’s one button eye. It made his hammering heart ache even more.

“Dear…” Seam began, leaning to cup Jevil’s cheek in his great big paw. But before he could, Jevil fully pirouetted out of arm’s length. He was careful to tuck in his tail not to smack the other in such cramped quarters, but his hat still clanged rather awkwardly. Pesky bells.

“SEE? JEVIL IS FINE-FINE!” and with a flourish, he took a low bow, very low, more so to hide his face from the other. His body felt hot, ablaze! That’s a new one! And he was sure it was rushing to his head.

This gesture didn’t seem to sit right with Seam, but the jester gave him no room to raise another question, quickly turning back to the trunk of props. He began to furiously dig through them, patterned bowling pins and unblown balloons being scattered about. A glittery rose gently bopped the old cat in his face, and he gave a frustrated snort to rid himself of the shimmery flecks.

Seam’s hand twitched uneasily as he lowered it to rest on his knee, his eye lingering on Jevil’s back. “Perhaps a visit to the royal physician is in order?” he offered instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this in parts because it feels kinda overwhelming to like... be dealing with all these words in front of me all at the same time. So, it's not really a chapter fic. I may delete all the chapters and re-post it as one long-ass story when I'm completely done. 
> 
> But, for me, breaking it up like this just makes it easier to manage/focus on. Sorry for the abrupt stop. Sorry if reading it like this is whack. Hooray processing disorders lol
> 
> I guess we can figure out what to call it when it's finished. I think the obvious title would have something to do with butterflies, but that sounds cliche and lame as hell and exactly why I avoided that
> 
> Oh, and since this is a WIP and I'm really trying to sort out the pacing (cuz I want to include good descriptions where appropriate), this part, and subsequent parts after they've been posted, will probably undergo alterations as well. Probably nothing to like.... change the plot or anything. Just stuff to add more flavor as I'm fleshing out this darkner world and my interpretation of the characters 
> 
> Hopefully when it's all done and I legit piece the whole thing together, I won't need to go back and edit anything other than like.... typos lol


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I finished another chunk that I feel okay with releasing. 
> 
> Probably not gonna stop me from going back and editing it later tho
> 
> Also, S/O to Antartica648, because now this baby has a name!

Jevil stopped digging rather abruptly, half of the chest’s contents scattered between him and the cat. Was he sick? He knew exactly why he was coughing, _TO GET THE BUTTERFLIES OUT!_ ,  but maybe the other feelings were actually signs of sickness? Chills. Waves of heat. Accelerated heartbeat. Tummy troubles. Maybe he was sick…

Jevil visibly brightened, a crazed smile splitting his face excitedly. If he’s _sick_ , then there’s a _cure_ , right?! And if he’s cured, he can stop _avoiding_ Seam, and…

He turned to peek over his shoulder, his eyes falling upon the old cat hunched over his own work once again. _S-STOP HURTING SEAM’S FEELINGS…_

While avoiding Seam was definitely not his brightest idea, Jevil felt as though he couldn’t tell Seam about this. _That would be worse!_ He couldn’t make sense of the feelings himself, but it was clear that Seam was the source. Any other time, he was fine, really and truly! But recently, when Seam would get a little close, _too close_ ….

His stomach gave a flip as his thoughts darted to a memory from a few days prior.  He slapped his hands over his mouth before his jugular could squeeze out another cough.  
  
And really, _WHY NOW!?_ It didn’t make any sense! They’ve been together for so long! Nearly every day was spent in the other’s company, whether they were working or even just resting. And all of those times were so fun, so pleasant…  
  
It was decided! Enough was enough!  
  
“JEVIL-” the jester sprung to his feet with a clatter as props fell from his lap, causing Seam’s fur to bristle at the sudden pop of his voice, “IS GOING TO THE DOCTOR.”

As he took his first step towards the door the jester slipped on a stray silken scarf, crashing over the abundant clutter. Seam flinched at the sound.

“D-Dear-?”

But just as quickly, he was back on his feet and out of his Jevil-sized door with a slam that shook the caravan. Not once turning to face Seam. ~~~~

  
  
  
With a bit of Seam’s magic, their humble little abode had been moved out into the fields. It was a necessarily measure to keep their preparations secret from the curious eyes of the court and its subjects. Not to mention the wide open space allowed Jevil to practice his larger stunts. But for right now, it proved inconvenient, as the castle, along with its physician, were a good trek away.  
  
But Jevil was determined. East, east, east he would go with his little legs carrying him. He teetered like a wind-up toy, so quick that he may have appeared to be floating, his cape whipping behind him wildly. Gooey rabbick and papery dancer-like all dashed out of the way of the bullet-like jester, the plush purple pastures of the fields disappearing beneath his feet as he crossed into the Great Board. He didn’t stop for the Pieces that waved as he sped past, keeping his sharp eyes trained on silhouetted castle in the distance.  
  
Rounding the corner, the Rudinn Rangers barely regarded him as he zoomed past the gates. He wasted no time checking for the elevator. Chances are that it would be stuck on the floor of the last king to use it. And taking the stairs was only a flight’s climb. ~~~~  
  
Once on the floor of Hearts, Jevil made his way east still, to a lone hall. The dark titles that spanned the rest of the castle transitioned into a checkered pattern, much like the natural terrain of the Great Board. Tall pillars of wood, colorful stacked cubes carved with letters from the language of the Lightners, lined the checkered floor on either side, leading up to a set of double doors. Torches fixed atop illuminated the narrow space in a soft, neon glow.

 _STILL TOO FANCY_ , Jevil snorted to himself.

One foot after the other, he approached the grand-standing doors to the royal physician’s office. They stretched all the way to the top of the ceiling, far taller than any Darkners Jevil knew. Except maybe the Clubs.

Etched into the large doors was a portrait of the Doctor himself, with two stars on either side of his smugly smiling face. As patronizing as Jevil felt that it was to have the smaller door added to their caravan, he always found it all too troublesome for these handles to be up _so high_.

But during those visits he had his better half with him.

Instead, he perched himself on his tail to compensate and, with both of his mitted hands, indignantly flung the doors open with the loudest bang.

“C-Court Jester?” a hammer-headed fellow gaped, clearly shocked to see the little jester barging in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh, I have no idea how many "parts" there's gonna be. I'll just keep releasing them in chunks that I think make for a decent enough read. 
> 
> Eventually, when the full thing is done, I'll delete all the chapters and condense it down to a single, long story. 
> 
> Hopefully it won't be too long, but the rough draft is at 5000+ words and all the scenes are out of order ^^;


End file.
